Page 62 of You, Only You

"We'll hear from Ms. Ashford tomorrow," Chen said. "For now, let's focus on how the evidence was preserved and documented."

I answered her questions. Chain of custody. Digital forensics protocols. Preservation procedures. My voice stayed steady. My hands stayed relaxed on the arms of the witness chair. The courtroom version of me was doing its job, which was good, because the rest of me was doing something I couldn't quite control, which was scanning that gallery every forty-five seconds like a searchlight.

She wasn't coming. The realization settled into my stomach, heavy and cold. She was doing exactly what I'd spent four days asking for: maintaining distance. Being professional. Respecting the line I'd drawn in a hallway while my hands were still shaking from kissing her.

Be careful what you engineer. Sometimes the machinery works exactly as designed, and you find out you designed the wrong thing.

"Mr. Steele." Chen's voice sharpened slightly, and I realized I'd let a silence stretch too long.

"I apologize. Could you repeat that?"

"I asked about your professional relationship with the primary target, Victor Reeves."

"I've never represented Mr. Reeves directly. Sterling & Steele has handled matters for Meridian Tech in the past, but not since the irregularities came to light."

"And you saw no conflict of interest in investigating a former client?"

"The firm's prior representation was limited to contract negotiations unrelated to the current matter. Once we identified potential criminal activity, we had an ethical obligation to act."

Chen nodded, but I could see where she was heading. She was good, thorough, strategic. She knew the defense would attack my credibility eventually, so she was doing it first. Controlled demolition. Pull the building down yourself so your opponent can't surprise you with the explosion.

"Mr. Steele, you've been the subject of several state bar inquiries over the course of your career. Is that correct?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell the jury what those inquiries concerned?"

"Complaints from opposing counsel alleging aggressive litigation tactics. All were investigated and dismissed."

"Your reputation in the legal community is somewhat..." She paused, selecting the word like someone choosing a surgical instrument. "Controversial. Some colleagues describe you as ruthless. Even vindictive."

"I represent my clients zealously within the bounds of the law. Opposing parties often find that unpleasant."

"But your methods have been questioned."

"My methods have been investigated and cleared. Repeatedly."

Chen accepted this with a nod and moved to the subject I'd been bracing for the way you brace for a car hitting a guardrail. You know it's coming. You tense everything. It doesn't help.

"Let's discuss your personal connection to cases involving institutional failure. Seven years ago, your sister Nicole was the victim of a serious assault at her university."

The room didn't change. Same lights. Same temperature. Same twenty-three faces in tiered rows. But something in my peripheral vision narrowed, the way it did when threat response kicked in, the edges of the world going dark to focus on whatever was directly in front of me.

"Yes."

"The alleged perpetrator was never charged."

"That's correct."

"Can you tell us why?"

"The university's investigation concluded there was insufficient evidence to pursue disciplinary action. The district attorney's office declined to prosecute based on the same assessment."

The words came out in the right order, in the right tone, and they cost exactly what they always cost, which was something I didn't have a unit of measurement for.

"And how did you respond to that outcome?"

I could feel the jurors' attention shift. Sharpen. This was what they'd been waiting for, maybe without knowing it. The human part. The part that explained why a man in a tailored suit had spent seven years hunting people through the shadows of the legal system.